Abstract
Mounding of the groundwater table beneath recharge sources is of concern as the raised water table approaches closely to near-surface facilities or features. The shape and height of the mound depend on several factors including the recharge rate, hydraulic conductivity and thickness of the aquifer. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the suitability of the study area for a rapid infiltration system of treated wastewater effluent without causing excessive mounding of the water table. A comparison was made between two methods used to estimate ground-water mounding: an analytical approach and a numerical approach. Both approaches incorporate each of the saturated and the unsaturated zones. Results predicted that after 1400 days of groundwater level simulation, the maximum rise of the mound was 18 m in the center of the infiltration pond, and it was almost 17 m at the edges of the pond. As the natural average groundwater level was about 35 m deep in the area of the study, the groundwater mounding caused no problem on the groundwater level. Thus, the planned infiltration was feasible.
Highlights
Artificial groundwater recharging is one of the most important means required to increase the natural supply of groundwater, and it is an augmentation of the natural movement of the surface water into underground formations by artificially changing natural conditions (CHOUDHARY, 2007)
Two types of groundwater recharge are commonly used with reclaimed municipal wastewater: surface spreading or percolation, and direct aquifer injection
Three observation wells OB1, OB2 and OB3 in the center and at the edges of the recharge area were used for the study of the resulting groundwater mound
Summary
Artificial groundwater recharging is one of the most important means required to increase the natural supply of groundwater, and it is an augmentation of the natural movement of the surface water into underground formations by artificially changing natural conditions (CHOUDHARY, 2007). Two types of groundwater recharge are commonly used with reclaimed municipal wastewater: surface spreading or percolation, and direct aquifer injection. Surface spreading is the oldest, simplest, and most widely applied method of artificial recharge. Recharge waters such as treated municipal wastewater percolate from spreading basins through the unsaturated soil and ground vadose zone. Direct subsurface recharge is achieved when water is placed directly into an aquifer. Highly treated reclaimed water is pumped directly into the groundwater zone, usually
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